Explore South Africa with Wilderness Safaris

Wildlife in South Africa

South Africa has 10% of the world's known bird, fish and plant species and 5% of the world's mammal and reptile species; the third most biologically diverse country on Earth. This includes 243 mammal, 900 bird, 370 reptile and 220 fish species and more than 20 300 species of flowering plants.

The south-western Cape is home to the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of the world's six Plant Kingdoms. Some 8 000 plant species grow only here, making this one of the most significant concentrations of plant species on Earth.

The country's eastern edges are covered with savannah bushveld and woodland. This is the site of some of Africa's great conservation and wildlife stories, such as Kruger National Park, and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, where the great sea turtles haul themselves up onto the beaches to lay their eggs.